A former US soldier has appeared in a US federal court, charged with the rape and murder of an Iraqi girl, and the killing of three members of her family.

Steven Green, 21, is accused of carrying out the rape and murders in Mahmoudiya, south of Baghdad, in March, along with other soldiers.

A military inquiry into the incident is the latest in a series into alleged abuses by US troops in Iraq.

Green was arrested by FBI agents on Friday in North Carolina.

He faces a possible death penalty if convicted.

Shots heard

A statement from the US attorney in Kentucky says Green is charged with going to a house near Mahmoudiya with three other people to rape a woman living in the house.